A masterful example of expansion that leaves the game essentially unchanged. If it's good or bad, depends mostly on what you expected from your purchase. I expected more bang for my buck. If you wanted more of the same, lucky you - that's what you'll get. [May 2008]

The expansion adds a whole slew of reliable German hardware and starting the career in 1943 or 44 lets you use the radar, radar detector and decent hydrophone immediately. And you can now issue orders to certain allied units, including Japanese recon planes and a pocket battleship. Fun!

After the release of Medieval II this Ukrainian game still had a fighting chance thanks to its radical concept, but even putting aside the chaotic AI it's completely unplayable - it runs at staggering 5 fps even on powerful gaming rigs. [May 2008]

This ancient city planning simulator got a bit more interesting, but is still lacking many managing options and the scale is certainly sub par, especially considering that the population of Rome at its peak was over 1 million. [May 2008]

I'm truly sorry to watch such a fine franchise brought to the brink of destruction by ruthless exploitation. Two races - all that's truly new here - are a weak excuse for selling a full priced game with tired graphics, boring single player campaign and imbalanced units. [May 2008]

In theory, all it takes to make fans of the series happy is giving them an interactive episode. And that's exactly what they got. Unfortunately the spirit of the series is lost and there is nothing mysterious about its disappearance: because there is no mystery in the game at all. It's just a guided tour through the well known set, only slightly masked as an adventure. Fans will be happy, the rest... well, whatever were you looking for, it isn't there. [Apr 2008]

Brave construction worker breaks necks, perforates SS uniforms and fights for freedom while I sink slowly in my chair, disbelieving. It's been a long time since I've seen in a game such angular objects, bleary textures and enemies who ignore a 9 mm burst through the chest. A total waste of Unreal 3 engine. [May 2008]

The existence of sims comprised mostly of the same actions repeated over and over again gains some more colour now that cooking and cleaning up can be taken up as hobbies. Career and romance become even easier thanks to a new batch of options directed at starting and improving the relationships. There is nothing revolutionary in this rather utilitarian add-on, but if I can have a good time fixing the microwave, why not? [March 2008]

The concept of speed is central to this shooter and that's even more pronounced than in many racers. The challenge to meet both the body count and the time limit provides countless adrenaline-charged moments, the whole experience is so intense that it's hard to remain on the top and in control for longer than half an hour. The only weak spots are boring defence modes and the fact that without the Games for Windows Live account you can't even save the game. All the rest is fast, aggressive and wild action. [Apr 2008]

Adventure with a physics engine? Wait until you check out the puzzles. Or, if thrillers aren't your thing, better not. The arctic setting, the mysterious sounds and frightening sights combine into a terrifying experience - it's The Thing meets Lost! [Apr 2008]

It's hard to make a winning shooter these days, because it's so easy to make an average one. If you don't have anything original to show, you are lost in a crowd. And that's what happened to this really decent game. The weapons and the graphics are nothing to write home about, the heroes are a bit cliched, the cooperation between them is the best part, but that's just not enough. [Apr 2008]

Not your typical movie franchise - this one is actually quite decent. It has quests, secrets, simple yet satisfactory combat and scenes from the movie, but everything looks just a bit too much last year. [May 2008]

Switching the views and the lights, opening the doors, figuring out the puzzles and watching as doctor Lea Nichols solves the mystery of an abandoned secret lab - that's all it takes to get into the mood and experience one of the most remarkable adventures. [July 2008]

The best space strategy since Homeworld and Hegemony. The smooth zoom from the star map to the command of an embattled fleet is impressive, but the battles are won and lost mostly in the strategic view - the choice of clever tactical tricks and ship designs is much more limited than the vast array of technologies and logistical choices.

Drop the plural, there is only one story - and repeating it with a sim of the opposite gender doesn't change a thing. What's worse, however, is that there is nothing new about this whole affair. It's amazing to what lengths the creators went to ensure that this "castaway" adventure feels like any other sims on vacation tale. There is even a cell phone made from a shell! The story itself is quite interesting and compelling, pity that after finishing it you can dispose of the game. [March 2008]

The commander of the troops can enjoy this unique game much more than one of the hapless folks bleeding on the field of battle. And amongst them being a mage beats being a grunt in almost every respect. The hand to hand combat is so fast and random that it's hard to feel satisfaction even when you are winning. [March 2008]

The only bright (white) spot in the general mediocrity is the polar bear Iorek who fights like a professional wrestler. All the rest of the action consists of jumping and minigames repeated without much diversity. That is, if we don't count the occasional changes of the point of view that cause no end of frustration - it's easy to fall to your death from a shelf or plank when suddenly forward becomes right. Combined with very sparse save points, it seems like an attempt to punish the player for even trying. [March 2008]

The alien races fighting for control of the Earth are completely different from each other and from the usual anthropocentric units, and yet the designers managed to strike the proper balance of forces. It's easy to forgive the exceedingly huge mech designs taking up half of the field of view and occasional trouble with units failing to find the right path to the target. Overall it's a refreshing departure from the routine in the RTS genre. [March 2008]

Smash hit of the 80s returns in style - and sadly suffers from the budget constrains that gave it the look and feel of a rushed release. Sound glitches, occasional crashes and awkward interface detract from the fun of the ruthless fight. [June 2008]

One of the two original ideas - betting on the outcome of the race - effectively nullifies any challenge, small as it were. Contrary to its overly hard predecessor, Juiced 2 allows the player to instantly bounce back from defeat using this easy money. The other somewhat original idea, the DNA that is supposed to store information about drivers' traits and skills, is a complete fiasco. Raising the stats of your driver has virtually no influence on the handling of the car and who gives a hoot about the skills of all those losers who are seen mostly in the rear mirror? Other than that, it's a lackluster Need for Speed clone. [March 2008]

This standalone add-on brings a campaign that consists of six missions, each one taking many hours to complete as it develops from a simple task to epic struggle spanning over half the planet. It's a must for every gamer who values the strategic thinking over the tactical action AND is a fan of this game - the difficulty bar went way up, also, some changes are so subtle that only a true afficionado can appreciate their profound impact on the established patterns of deployment. [March 2008]

This standalone expansion to the respected fps released two years ago has all the telltale signs of a quick cash grab, and the time has left its marks on the engine. But turning the environment into swiss cheese among the sparks of ricochets hasn’t lost its appeal, and there is some new stuff to frighten the player and then his enemies with. [Dec 2007]

Excellent role-playing game, if at places it seems unpolished. It’s hard not to recall the hours spent in Fallout with its difficult ethical choices strongly influencing the storyline...The Witcher owes more to the story, excellent dialogues and the setting than to the combat system or the abilities development, the latter two being the weakest points of the game. Also it’s a pity that the Aurora engine forces frequent and very long loading times. [Dec 2007]

This series evolves even slower than FIFA and it’s equally spectacular at the expense of realism. The computer opponent’s play is based on repetitive sequences that are easily predicted. There are a lot of errors, like throws from behind the back line hitting the backboard, the ball teleporting into the hands during rebounds, stupid AI losses, outs and missed lay-ups. The graphics don't look good even at the highest detail setting. But all this is suddenly dismissed when I score three points after a 20-second sequence of seven passes ending in a masterful feint. Cool! [Dec 2007]

I wonder if the people at SI Games haven’t just reached a boundary that they won’t be able to cross… FM 2008 has over a hundred new features and although I love most of them, this game is becoming more and more like an encyclopedia – the entry is hindered by a barrier of countless details to grasp and things to remember. But behind it awaits the best football manager on Earth. [Dec 2007]

Interesting story and good looks won't get you anywhere if you have just the ancient keyboard and mouse to control your character fighting several enemies at the time. And there is no other way but forward, from one quest to another, so when you are blocked by a vicious bug or when a vanquished foe who clearly was swinging a sword drops a cabbage again, you can but sit and weep. [Apr 2008]

The Soviet spy uses Hitman techniques and changes as often as him, but his moves aren’t half as cool. Sneaking past legions of suspicious Gestapo thugs soon becomes tedious and boring, and while the armory is full of things that go boom, using them is pure suicide precisely because said boom brings the whole damned Wehrmacht on your head. [Dec 2007]

The ideal online shooter: average player can enter the fray and even hurt somebody, while pros will be grinding away milliseconds from the time to carry the suitcase on 2forts. And all thanks to the fact that among the nine classes there is exactly zero useless ones. The only serious drawback is the disgracefully low number of maps: only six. [Dec 2007]

A really solid add-on, as long as some full games and made like a good science fiction movie. At last the combat isn’t confined to city streets and cellars, so one can breathe freely. The only problem is the lack of new guns. But it’s an excellent sequel anyway. It has a megaton of mood, believable characters, sensible story motivating the hero and the old American clunker of a car switching gears with a wonderful grinding sound. It’s hard not to like it - and the Episode Two as well. [Dec 2007]

The idea stolen shamelessly from Prey, masterful implementation and... you won’t know when these three hours have passed. Zipping through portals and placing them on the fly (literally) makes for loads of fun, and the authors spice up the play with quite a story that’s not immediately visible and all the more enjoyable when discovered. [Dec 2007]

Design and build your own roller coaster? Sounds cool, but even making money on it is hundredfold less exciting than riding one. Don't get me wrong, the game is fun... unfortunately only the first time you play it. Then it becomes repetitive and boring until you get to the missions. Well, having a challenge always helps. [Dec 2007]

Nothing really ground-breaking here, just a great online shooter set at a pace adequate for folks with ADHD. Each of the five classes is important, and the teamwork is essential. Even the best body count doesn’t bring full satisfaction if your team fails to secure the mission objectives, because you screwed disarming the bomb or covering the hacker. [Dec 2007]

Built of ready blocks and with graphics stuck somewhere between realism and cel-shading, it looks like a homage to the old 2D platformers, but it’s a game for children who, alas, never played them…Spidey cocoons the enemies, shoots the web, topples the bigger baddies to save the day and this game. What a pity that the opponents pose absolutely no challenge, no matter their size. [Dec 2007]

Just like the original, the expansion is extremely realistic and hard. Unfortunately it also brings very few new features. The combat on gigantic maps where you can die from a sniper shot fired hundreds of meters away just became more attractive thanks to the addition of M16A4, motorbikes and two short campaigns. If that doesn’t appeal to your inner soldier, probably you are like me. [Dec 2007]

Vietnam veteran Joey Verolla is a really, really tough guy who can not only lift two kalashnikovs but also fire them simultaneously. And he does this trick with any other handgun, even SPAS. If it doesn't properly impress his enemies, it's because they are brainless. As is the entire game - despite some interesting mission designs, quite amusing (and gory) finishing sequences and virtually useless ability to seek cover by putting your back to the wall, this shooter is as simple as some precursors of the genre. [March 2008]

If I had to judge this shooter after the first level, I'd have no mercy. Luckily the next stages show that it needs none of it. No two levels are truly alike, and the need to figure out the chain reactions turns the Everyday Shooter from a fragfest into a challenge. [July 2008]